12/31/08

As I type this, it's already 2009 in many places. Here in California, the new year is still several hours away. As far as I'm concerned it can't come soon enough! What a mediocre year! Did anyone have an unequivocally good 2008? Well, I am happy for you if you did. As for the rest of us, it's almost over.

This blog will turn 1 year old tomorrow. Happy birthday, blog! I made 265 blog posts this year, and that's not bad. Blogging every day has never been a goal of mine. Do any gardeners blog every day besides Carol and Christopher? Carol, Christopher--thank you for blogging. You are an inspiration to us all.

As gardeners, I think we want to be more observant of the changes that happen in our gardens and blogging is a good way to do that. So I'm shooting for 300 blog posts in 2009, and I'm calling that my official New Year's Resolution.

What happened in 2008? Let's take a look back...

January

I began the year wondering if doom might be the theme for 2008. (I ask you, was I far off?) The next few days, a big stormknocked down trees and powerlines across the Bay Area.

I got a lot of gardening ideas at the San Francisco Botanical Garden's design symposium, Gardens That Work.

We took some time to appreciate the stark light of winter.

Many of you shared my anticipation for the Mediterranean biennial Echium wildpretii that bloomed in my garden in 2008. The swirling drama of the leaves and slowly elongating flower stalk was a thrill to behold.

I went to a CalHort lecture about plant collecting in Japan and China.

September

I only blogged twelve times in September, my slowest month ever. The garden was very quiet, but you wouldn't know it from the Bloom Day.

I took refuge from the long summer in the deep green of the redwood forest.

October

We flew to Los Angeles for the weekend and visited the Getty Center. We puzzled over the azalea maze and admired the rebar frames for bougainvillea.

Back in the Bay Area we took one of my favorite drives--up to Petaluma, over to Tomales, down to Olema, back over to San Rafael, and home. In Tomales, I lusted over orange grass at Mostly Natives Nursery.

Yeah, I need to have some of that.

November

November was a horrible month. I was happy for a new president but the vote on Proposition 8 made me sick. We protested.

My father read and listened to every single reader comment about the tragic ash. I thank you all for your input and I will keep you informed about how that situation evolves.

Perhaps antipating this long look back, I visited an old family farm and felt a little nostalgic about how things used to be.

But when it comes down to it, change is a part of nature. Change is deeply embedded in the order of things.

We can ignore it for awhile but ultimately we cannot avoid it. We can resist it for awhile but ulimately we must accept it. We can try to shape it but we cannot control it. Life is an endless process of change that requires continuous learning and careful observation.

Happy New Year! Thank you all for sharing this blog with me. It wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun without you.